Murder Victim. She was a recent graduate of the Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational School. At the time of her death, she was pursuing a freelance a career in graphic arts and had a small contract with Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts.  Tufts biology professor Dr. William Douglas allegedly “picked her up” as a prostitute in Boston’s now highly diminished, but then infamous red light district known as “The Combat Zone” Douglas formed an expensive and lengthy obsession with Benedict. After several months she insisted that they call off the relationship. Douglas flew into a rage, murdered her and claimed that he then disposed of the body in a dumpster in Rhode Island. The Central Landfill in Johnston, Rhode Island was searched repeatedly, her body has ever been found. The most current information suggests that Williams lied about the whereabouts of where he disposed of Benedict’s body. It is claimed that Benedict had a black book containing a list of clients. Police reports show that she had been arrested four times for prostitution. Earlier in that year she met Douglas, then 41, married, father of three, who was also convicted of embezzling $67,000 from Tufts to give Benedict gifts and pay $100 for each hour spent with him. This “affair” went on for most of the year which the arrangement took an ugly turn when Douglas began to stalk Benedict, who had told him numerous times to leave her alone. In an ill-fated effort to end the relationship in March of 1983, Benedict went to Douglas’ home in Sharon after arranging the meeting from a call in a phone booth to say she wanted to end the relationship, in a rage he violently murdered her with a sledge hammer. All that has ever been found was Benedict’s silver Toyota, which was positively tested to have her blood in and on it and it was found near a New York City parking garage five months after her death. In exchange for a lighter sentence Douglas gave gruesome details at his questioning and trial of the murder and location of where he left Benedict’s body. His crime was reduced to manslaughter and he was given a ridiculously light sentence of up to 20 years with parole options. The information provided by the murderer did not, in fact, help in the investigation. In 1987, Douglas (having been left by his former wife over this incident) married 43-year-old Bonnie Jean Smith while he was still incarcerated. Douglas was later released early after serving only 8 1/2 years. In 1990, members of the Benedict family met with Douglas, now released from prison, to try to find out more about the case and possibly find their daughter’s body. Douglas said only what he had told the police — that he had wrapped her body in a quilt, placed it in the trunk of her car and disposed of it in a dumpster in the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island. A $29.5 million lawsuit filed against Douglas by the Benedict family has still not proved fruitful. A television movie “The High Price of Passion” was made about this story in 1986, and this case is also the subject of a 1989 book “Missing Beauty” by Theresa Carpenter. High emotions still run in this case after most than 20 years. The Benedict family is unable to even post memorial pictures and mass remembrances in their local newspaper, for people mail cippings of them back with repugnant messages regarding their daughter and her death. William Douglas is now free, married and living elsewhere in New England. (bio by: R. Digati) Cause of death: Murdered by hammer